already designed and implemented customized schemas for their metadata. The NSF ... control over the software that is serving our data to the web. ... The third advantage is that Drupal 7 has semantic web capabilities built into the core.
Legacy2Drupal
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office
AGU 2011 December 7, 2011
Tobias T. Work1, Andrew R. Maffei3, Cynthia L. Chandler2, M. Dickson Allison1, Robert C. Groman1, Steve L. Gegg2 1~Biology Department, 2~Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, 3~Computer and Info Services, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA 02543
Abstract
# IN31B-1436
Content Management Systems (CMSs) such as Drupal provide powerful features that can be of use to oceanographic (and other geo-science) data managers. However, in many instances, geo-science data management offices have
Migrating to Drupal 7 1
Inventory
2
Migrate
3
4
Customize UI
Integrate
5
Test
already designed and implemented customized schemas for their metadata. The NSF funded Biological Chemical and Biological Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) has ported an existing relational database containing oceanographic metadata, along with an existing interface coded in Cold Fusion middleware, to a Drupal 7 Content Management System. This is an update on an effort described as a proof-of-concept in poster IN21B-1051, presented at AGU2009.
Migrate module
BCO-DMO Legacy DB
The BCO-DMO project has translated all the existing database tables, input forms, website reports, and other features present in the existing system into Drupal CMS features. The replacement features are made possible by the use of
BCO-DMO Views Naming Conventions
SQL
SQL
bcodmo.inc
Drupal content types, CCK node-reference fields, a custom theme, and a number of other supporting modules.
This presentation describes the process used to migrate content in the original BCO-DMO metadata database to
Perl DB access library
Drupal 7, some problems encountered during migration, and the modules used to migrate the content successfully. Strategic use of Drupal 7 CMS features that enable three separate but complementary interfaces to provide access to
Testing module
BCO-DMO Drupal 7 DB
Views instances
Legacy BCO-DMO Frontend (ColdFusion)
Migration Class
Views module
RDFx module
Services module
SPARQL module
JSON
oceanographic research metadata will also be covered: 1) a Drupal 7-powered user front-end; 2) REST-ful JSON web services (providing a MapServer interface to the metadata and data; and 3) a SPARQL interface to a semantic
Forms API
representation of the repository metadata (this feeding a new faceted search capability currently under development). Constellation, makes strategic use of pre-existing ontologies and will be used to drive semantically-enabled faceted search capabilities planned for the site. At this point, the use of semantic technologies included in the Drupal 7 core is anticipated.
Views API
New Perl DB access library
BCO-DMO Migration Class
The existing BCO-DMO ontology, developed in collaboration with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute s Tetherless World Legacy BCO-DMO Frontend (ColdFusion)
BCO-DMO MapServer Interface
Using a public domain CMS as opposed to proprietary middleware, and taking advantage of the many features of
BCO-DMO OSPREY module Content Type Migration Classes
Taxonomy Term Migration Classes
New BCO-DMO SPARQL Endpoint New BCO-DMO frontend (Drupal 7)
Drupal 7 that are designed to support semantically-enabled interfaces will help prepare the BCO-DMO and other science data repositories for interoperability between systems that serve ecosystem research data.
Motivations for Using Drupal ColdFusion 8
Drupal 7
Proprietary
Open-source
Custom code No Semantic Web
BCO-DMO custom test suite
New BCO-DMO MapServer Interface
Other Applications
The first step is to
In order for the
Depending on the legacy data entry method, building
The legacy
To make sure that
examine the structure of
legacy data to be
a user interface in Drupal to mimic the legacy system
database access
the Drupal
existing data stores
imported into
can require some creativity and a solid understanding
layer used SQL
interface works
Drupal, one must
of the Drupal core and contributed module APIs. In
queries that
order to recreate the legacy data entry method in
became obsolete
and interfaces. It is
as designed,
Contributed Modules
important to understand how data
create the necessary Drupal data
Semantic web support
are organized and presented in the
structures to hold the legacy data.
Drupal 7, BCO-DMO used a custom module to bring together the Forms
when we imported the data into
written using the Testing module. To
tests will be
legacy system so that they can be
One might use the CCK,
and Views APIs and a series of Views that were assigned a name
Drupal. In place of the SQL queries,
assure that integration with external
Highlighted above are just three of the advantages that BCO-DMO would gain from using Drupal instead of
represented accurately within
References, and Corresponding
according to a strong naming convention (to make code simpler and
we will call authenticated Web
applications works and performs well,
ColdFusion. The first of which is the fact that Drupal is Open Source. This enables BCO-DMO to have much more
Drupal.
Node References modules to
easier to maintain). In addition, we took advantage of Views' display
Services built using the Services and
a custom test suite will be written. In
control over the software that is serving our data to the web. The second advantage is that because Drupal is Open
create data structures within
inheritance feature to make creation and maintenance of the Views
Views modules to achieve integration
addition, user testing will take place to
Source and built with a modular nature in mind, BCO-DMO can take advantage of code written by the Drupal
Drupal. Using the Migrate module,
easier. To achieve a tab-based data editing interface, we used a
with existing external applications.
assess usability.
community as well as write custom code. There are literally thousands of Drupal modules, many of which would be
a mapping between existing data
hook_menu of type MENU_LOCAL_TASK to create a tabbed interface
useful to BCO-DMO. The third advantage is that Drupal 7 has semantic web capabilities built into the core. This will
and Drupal data structures can be
similar to BCO-DMO's legacy input forms.
emerge as a significant advantage as semantic technologies play a larger role in facilitating data discovery, data
established.
access, and data interoperability.
Acknowledgments This work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
